He launched a turnaround effort to bring it back from the brink of financial disaster. His immediate predecessor, Ron Johnson, tried to make the store more upmarket but alienated core customers in the process, leading to a $1.42 billion operating loss in 2013 and nearly $5 billion of debt.

Ellison had seen some success, but analysts say he's jumped ship before the job was finished. In the past few years, sales at JCPenney have stabilized, and Ellison has worked to reduce its debt load. However, the retailer still carries $4.1 billion in long-term debt.

"The departure of Marvin Ellison from JCPenney could not have come at a worse time for the beleaguered department store chain. The turnaround program that Ellison put in place has partly delivered but is still far from complete," Neil Saunders of GlobalData Retail said in a note to clients on Tuesday.

Moreover, analysts are now speculating whether his departure signals a lack of confidence in the store's future.

"Ellison's exit will raise speculation that he is not particularly optimistic about the future prospects of JCPenney and sees the grass as being greener at Lowe's," Saunders wrote.

We visited its only location in Manhattan, situated in the Manhattan Mall near Herald Square, to find out what it is like to shop there:

1/

JCPenney is the anchor store in the mall and opened in 2009. Today, it is spread over two floors.

The entrance to the store was confusing. It's split into two sections on either side of the escalator.

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

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Downstairs is the kids', teens', men's, and homeware departments. The first thing we noticed was how chaotic the store was.

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

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The sheer volume of clothing was shocking.

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

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Racks were stacked closely together, which made it very hard to shop the store.

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

6/

We were completely overwhelmed.

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

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The majority of the store was on sale, which was concerning. There were also dedicated clearance sections offering 70% off.

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

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It wasn't just JCPenney's own-label products that were on sale. Well-known brands such as Dickies, Nike, and Levi's were also on promotion.

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

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Retailers are increasingly focusing on offering customers more curated selections of clothing. With this in mind, it's hard to imagine how JCPenney can compete.

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

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It didn't matter what section we were in — the store was brimming with inventory.

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

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Ellison has led the charge to bring appliances back to stores. They were rolled out to 500 stores in 2016, following a 33-year hiatus.

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

The idea was to cash in on the collapse of rival department store Sears, attract first-time millennial homebuyers, and shift focus away from declining apparel sales.

12/

This was definitely the more glitzy part of the store, but the red sales tags were a warning sign.

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

JCPenney claimed that appliance sales were the strongest area of growth for the company in 2017. Home department sales accounted for 15% of the company's sales in 2017. This was up from 13% in 2016 and 12% in 2015.

13/

JCPenney's decline under Johnson was partly due to a drop in sales of homeware. It was the leading seller of window treatments and blinds in the US for decades. By 2014, it was capturing just 12% of home business compared from 21% in 2007.

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

Ellison believed that by bringing this section back to life and adding appliances, it would strengthen homeware and replace a previously unproductive space.

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The homeware section was one of the less chaotic areas of the store, and it offered some impressive services.

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

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We went upstairs to the entrance floor, where womenswear and a Sephora store-in-store was located.

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

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Ellison has been rolling out Sephora in-store beauty spots aggressively, as this drives traffic to the store and attracts customers who might not otherwise choose to shop at JCPenney.

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

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It was a similarly chaotic scene in womenswear.

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

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It was especially surprising given that we visited the store only an hour after it opened in the morning, before most shoppers would have made a visit there.

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

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There was a ton of clothing in the clearance section.

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

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The styles didn't seem to be resonating with customers.

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

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Behind the scenes, inventory seemed to be mounting.

There is no escape.
Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

22/

Shoes were haphazardly placed on the racks, similar to an off-price store.

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

23/

But this wasn't really a treasure-hunt experience.

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

Our verdict: This store had an overwhelming amount of inventory. The clothing was cheap and had the added bonus of being on sale, but customers didn't seem to be biting.

In some parts of the store, it was hard to distinguish between the clearance racks and the full-priced clothing, given that everything was on sale. In other areas, we were impressed by how neatly the clothing was laid out given how much there was to keep tidy and how closely packed in it was.

It's clear that Ellison's departure will come at a difficult time for the brand.